


Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again

by lunarknightz



Series: Death of Supermanverse [1]
Category: Smallville, Superman (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Death of Superman, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-24
Updated: 2016-09-24
Packaged: 2018-08-16 23:21:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8121559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunarknightz/pseuds/lunarknightz
Summary: Superman dies at the hands of Doomsday; leaving behind a broken hearted fiancé named Chloe Sullivan.Spoilers:  Through “Sacred” in SV, the Superman comic storyline “The Death of Superman”





	

_Wishing you were somehow here again  
Wishing you were somehow near  
Sometimes it seemed if I just dreamed  
Somehow you would be here_

_Wishing I could hear your voice again  
Knowing that I never would  
Dreaming of you won’t help me to do  
All that you dreamed I could_

_Passing bells and sculpted angels  
Cold and monumental  
Seem for you the wrong companions  
You were warm and gentle_

_Too many years fighting back tears  
Why can’t the past just die? _

_Wishing you were somehow here again  
Knowing we must say goodbye  
Try to forgive, teach me to live  
Give me the strength to try_

_No more memories, no more silent tears  
No more gazing across the wasted years  
Help me say goodbye  
Help me say goodbye_

_-“Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again,  
Phantom of the Opera,  
Andrew Lloyd Webber._

 

 

  
For a second, she could be anonymous. 

It was raining in Metropolis- did the sun ever shine anymore? She didn’t notice. Rain or sunshine, everything was bleak. It didn’t matter. Life was a routine- get up, get dressed, go to work, eat, shower, go to bed.

It was easier when she didn’t think.

Centennial Park was quiet today, the crowds kept away by the almost torrential rain. 

She left her umbrella at home, in a pile underneath Clark’s high school letter jacket. Yesterday, Chloe had went to his apartment and boxed everything up; sorting out what objects could be thrown away (she didn’t want to throw away anything that had been his- but did she really need empty French fry containers and empty gum wrappers?) Chloe had carefully packed up everything, taking items she was desperately attached to. The others she’d take to Jonathan and Martha.

It was ironic, that yesterday of all days, was the day she picked to pack up Clark’s apartment. It was supposed to be moving day- his lease ended today. He was going to move into their apartment- the shiny new apartment over in the Sullivan building. Clark had loved the fact that their first home as a married couple carried her maiden name.

But Clark didn’t move into the new apartment. 

Clark was dead.

This part of Centennial Park had been turned into a Superman tribute, mostly due to the efforts of those whose lives he’d touched. His fans; the people who he had rescued- many people had loved Metropolis’ own superhero. People all over the world were still grieving, two months later. 

There were pictures, drawn in crayon by a childish hand. A banner filled with signatures, a candle that had long ago burnt out. A stuffed Superman that was obviously hand sewn. Flowers everywhere.

It didn’t seem right. None of this was right.

The events of that day played in her mind all throughout the day and into the night. The sleeping pills the doctor prescribed helped Chloe get a couple of precious hours of sleep a night, but that was it.

 

_She’d gotten the scoop and rushed to find Lois. Lois was of all things, moonlighting as Turtle Girl on afternoon television. Apparently being a photographer for the Daily Planet didn’t pay quite enough to finance Lois’ opulent lifestyle._

_“Lois, you don’t get a three hour lunch.” Chloe was bit exasperated. “Perry wants us to go cover this Doomsday story. Like, yesterday.”_

_Lois shrugged. “Taping went long. Perry can just get his panties out of a wad. Geesh.”_

_“Superman’s out there, Lois.” Chloe growled. She was well of Lois’ crush on the hero- but Lois was just dense enough that she didn’t realize that Superman and Clark Kent, coworker and her cousin’s fiancé, were one and the same._

_Lois turned to the director. “Sorry, I gotta go.”_

_The cousins raced out of the studio, the director yelling after Lois as they fled._

_***_

_They were able to find Superman without much effort. A super powered alien fighting a gigantic monster, well…it drew attention._

_“Whoa, Baby.” Lois said as Superman walloped Doomsday. “That’s some hit. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him hit so hard.”_

_“Me neither.” Chloe struggled to keep her voice under control. She had to have faith. Clark would save them- he always did. “Think of it as a job, Sullivan.” She breathed. With a deep sigh she began to speak into her tape recorder. “New paragraph. Superman redoubled his efforts, taking advantage of Doomsday’s momentary distraction…”_

_***_

_The fight was now in downtown Metropolis. They weren’t too far from the Daily Planet._

_The tides of the fight had changed and Doomsday seemed to be winning._

_With a roar of rage, Doomsday picked up Superman and hurled him directly into the Daily Planet helicopter._

_Chloe and Lois screamed as the copter dropped._

_“This is it, this is really it.” Lois muttered. “I’m gonna die.”_

_Four stories above the ground, their descent came to an abrupt stop._

_Chloe stuck her head out the window. Despite his injuries, Superman had managed to catch the helicopter. “Thank you.” She mouthed, and Clark nodded in reply._

_When they were safely on the ground, Superman went to the front of the plane, to check the pilot._

_“He’ll have a concussion, but he’ll survive…if any of us do.” Clark’s voice was gruff._

_“Superman, are you all right?” Chloe wanted to do nothing more than hold him in her arms, and kiss away all the pain. She was all too aware of Lois’ presence to do so, however._

_He grabbed her arm. “Chloe…Lois. Get as far away from here as you can. I’d take you myself, but I just don’t know how much damage Doomsday would cause in the meantime.”_

_“I understand, but I’m not leaving you.” Chloe said._

_“No story is worth this, Chloe.”_

_“It’s not just a story.”_

_“I know.”_

_Lois had moved away, trying to capture Doomsday fighting the Special Crimes Unit of the Metropolis PD._

_Clark used this opportunity to sweep Chloe into his arms and give her a kiss. They broke apart all too soon._

_“Just remember, Chloe, no matter what happens, I will always love you.” Clark leapt into the sky before she could reply. A tattered piece of his sleeve broke off in her hand._

_Doomsday seized Superman and drove him headfirst into the pavement. The tattered remnant of his cape fell loose and tumbled away in a gust of wind._

_“NO!” Chloe ran forward._

_“Chloe, stay back.” Lois held on to her cousin’s shoulder._

_“Superman is in trouble, Lois! We have to help him!”_

_“How is this supposed to help, Chloe?” Lois said as they ran towards the hero and the monster. “The beast is coming this way!”_

_“Run, Lois! I’ll distract him.”_

_Superman popped up out of the pavement to see Doomsday menacing Chloe and Lois. He felt no pain, no weariness. He felt rage, he did not hold back one bit. Energy poured from his eyes in a torrent, as if he’d turned the volume of his heat vision up to 11._

_Chloe felt like she was standing next to a furnace._

_The monster reeled before her in the sheer rush of heat. Doomsday’s hide began to sear and blister. The monster howled in pain, and slashed Superman’s cheek, ripping it open._

_Superman did not flinch, he kept on fighting. He used energy and power with no restraint._

_A miracle- Doomsday began to weaken._

_Superman threw himself at Doomsday one last time. The result sounded like a sonic boom. Suddenly, both fighters collapsed. Superman tumbled onto his back, his chest heaving deeply. Doomsday fell on his back to the pavement, and did not move again._

_Chloe and Lois were the first to reach Superman’s side. Lois numbly took pictures, as if she couldn’t quite believe what was taking place before her eyes._

_Chloe reached out tenderly, and cradled her lover in her arms._

_His face was so swollen and bruised that he struggled to speak. “Doomsday…is he….he?”_

_Chloe gathered him close to her. “He’s down. You stopped him. You saved us all!”_

_Superman nodded. His head fell back against Chloe’s shoulder, and he slid limply to the pavement._

_Chloe weeped uncontrollably._

_All of their hopes, their dreams, their plans for the future, died. A childhood crush splintered into a million pieces._

_The whole world seemed oddly silent._

 

***

She gazed up at the official memorial, at the golden statue Lex Luthor had commissioned. Clark’s body was buried underneath.

Lex had given the eulogy at the funeral of the man who used to be his best friend and didn’t even know it.

It was wrong. It was so wrong. 

 

Clark didn’t belong here. Even as Superman, he didn’t go in for this sort of glitz and glamour. Though he was from another planet, he was a just a Smallville boy at heart.   
If he had to be buried anywhere…he should be back in Smallville…where she was buried.

Ten years ago, she had “died”. For a whole Summer she’d been hidden away by Lex, hidden away so that Lionel Luthor truly couldn’t kill her. Lex had gone all out with the ruse, making sure a mock funeral was held, and even putting up a tombstone. 

That tombstone was still there. She’d seen it once, after Alicia had died. Clark had been so crushed by Alicia’s death. And though they’d talked about almost everything under the sun together, they’d never talked about Chloe’s own supposed death. Had Clark cried? Had it he felt this bad, thinking she was dead?

Sometimes, she would dream. She’d hear a noise at her apartment window. She’d go to investigate it, and pull back the curtains. And their at her window would be Clark, alive and well. 

But that was just a dream.

Chloe found it amazing that more people couldn’t tell. Only herself, the Kents (of course), Lana, and Pete knew the truth. Lois had known Clark for ten years and didn’t have a clue. Superman and Clark Kent were the same person- though one wore wire rims and one had a spitcurl. 

She’d known for years that Clark was special. And after Alicia did her little show and tell, Chloe was pretty sure Clark was another Smallville Meteor Mutant. After dropping a million and a half anvils, he’d finally told her everything. 

Chloe was surprised, but alien or not, Clark was Clark. Despite all efforts otherwise, she was crazy in love with him. Always had been, always would be. He wasn’t a scary Sigourney Weaver alien, either, he was more of the cuddly E.T. sort. 

Chloe had helped shape Superman- gave him the first “interview” and even gave him that catchy name. Lois had wanted to name him Mega Man, of all things. Clark’s superhero debut had been a surprise, but Chloe certainly couldn’t complain- she had been a passenger on the space plane that was Superman’s first official rescue.

Chloe reached out and touched the monument.

“God help me Clark, but I just can’t say goodbye.”

**Author's Note:**

> originally posted March 2005.


End file.
